1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the various methodologies used in the building trades to attach gutters to eaves of buildings, and more particularly to a gutter bracket which provides a stable secure attachment of the gutter to the eaves.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that safe and effective control of roof run-off must be carefully planned for during the construction of a building. Ordinarily in this regard, gutters are provided at the eaves of the building to capture water flowing down the roof and direct it in a controlled manner to a preselected outflow location. Modern day gutters may be of aluminum, galvanized steel or plastic construction, and are generally of a cross-section characterized by a flat rear wall, a flat bottom, and a convexly curved (as seen from the exterior) front wall which terminates at its upper end with a U-shaped member. One or more downspouts are provided which interface with the gutter to channel water to the ground at one or more preselected locations.
There are several ways of attaching the gutter to the eaves of a building. Commonly, gutter spikes are used to nail the gutter to a building structure behind the rear wall of the gutter. The gutter spike pierces the U-shaped member, passes through a ferrule, pierces the rear wall, and then penetrates into the building structure, usually a solid wooden board. Another approach is to utilize a conventional gutter bracket to hold the gutter to the eaves. A conventional gutter bracket has a main body which is sized to span the distance between the rear wall and the U-shaped member of the gutter. At one end of the main body is located a clip which slips over the rear wall of the gutter, and the other end of the main body is provided with a nose which is dimensioned to snugly seat into the U-shaped member. The clip is provided with an aperture. A spiral gutter bracket nail is used to hold the gutter to the eaves, whereby the nail is driven through the rear wall of the gutter at the clip aperture and into the building structure.
While these two methods of installing gutters are quite common, each has one or more disadvantages. In the case of the gutter spike method, the spike head is visible from the outside and the support derived from the spike alone may not be sufficient. The gutter bracket is hidden from view and does afford better support, but the gutter bracket may slip out of alignment with the gutter as its being nailed and gutter may be able to wobble on the gutter nail during high wind because a very long lever arm extends between the rear wall and the U-shaped member of the gutter.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a gutter hanger which provides all the advantages of a conventional gutter hanger and further provides assurance of alignment during nailing and improved support to prevent gutter wobbling in high wind.